The Festival Youth Production is always a highlight of the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival and we are always blown away by the energy and professionalism of the fantastic young people who take part. This year we will present the firm Festival favourite THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE and we are delighted that Rachel Harland will direct this year’s production and that Oliver Longstaff will return as Musical Director. We are looking for a cast of young people aged between 9 and 19 years, who love to sing and act, to join the cast. This is a wonderful opportunity for participants to get involved in the Festival and learn how a production is directed and staged in just a week.

The Youth Production offers an amazing opportunity for young people to learn about theatre, opera, singing and acting, and of course to be part of this amazing Festival. Many of our young people have gone on to have outstanding careers in the world of theatre and music and there is no doubt that Gilbert & Sullivan is the ideal introduction to opera and musical theatre.

HOW TO APPLY

Please complete and return the application form. Email to: steph@gsfestivals.org (Please put “Youth Production Application” as the email subject) or post to: G&S Festivals, The Old Vicarage, All Souls Road, Halifax HX3 6DR. No audition is required to join the chorus.

AUDITIONS

Auditions for principal roles will be held at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate on May 4th. If you are unable to attend you may send your audition piece by DVD or YouTube link to us in advance (email: steph@gsfestivals.org or post to: G&S Festival, The Old Vicarage, All Souls Road, Halifax HX3 6DR).

No audition is necessary for chorus members but if you would like to come along to the auditions and meet everyone you are very welcome.

REHEARSALS

Rehearsals will take place in Harrogate every day from Saturday 10 August until the performance on the 17 August. A full rehearsal schedule will be available in June.

COST OF PARTICIPATING

The Youth Production is sponsored by the Friends of the G&S Festival as part of their youth initiative and outreach programme and there is a nominal charge of £30 per participant to cover the cost of professional chaperones. We ask parents to consider joining the Friends of the G&S Festival to help further support the cause. Some specific accessories,for example, black shoes, ballet shoes, white pumps, tights etc will need to be provided by participants and information will be distributed well in advance. We also expect participants to provide their own copy of the score. We would recommend the Chappell’s Vocal Score edition (available on Amazon).

TICKETS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Tickets for family and friends are available from the Box Office on 01422 323252 or from our online box office. All tickets cost £15. There are no concessions in the Utopia Theatre. This performance always sells very well so we would urge you to book your tickets as soon as possible.

AWARDS

The performance will be accompanied by our UNIFest orchestra and awards will be given for performers in the following categories: Best Male Performer and Best Female Performer.

PLEASE KNOW YOUR WORDS!

We do ask that all principals and chorus know the words of their parts before arriving at the first rehearsal due to the short time we have available.

Participants will be sent MP3 recordings to help with practice and the latest Pirates of Penzance DVD can be purchased from our Festival shop here.

PERFORMANCE LICENCE/SAFETY

All participants of legal school age are required by law to have a performance licence to be part of the Youth Production. If this is applicable to you please complete the relevant section on the Registration Form to help us with the licence application process.

All adults involved with the Youth Production have been DBS checked. Chaperones are engaged throughout rehearsals and the day of the performance and will be backstage with the cast throughout. We operate a “signing in/signing out” system to all rehearsals with parents/guardians and children for those aged under 16. We expect a high level of behaviour and will not tolerate the use of alcohol, smoking or any other substances at any time. Any concerns about an individual will be brought to the attention of the parent/guardian immediately. Please refer to our policy document online or email oliver@gsfestivals.org